Soft Matter Theoryhttp://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory
Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:24:27 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.1Chris Burke participates in Tufts’ Graduate Institute for Teachinghttp://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/06/09/chris-burke-participates-in-tufts-graduate-institute-for-teaching/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/06/09/chris-burke-participates-in-tufts-graduate-institute-for-teaching/#commentsMon, 09 Jun 2014 16:01:03 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=719For the past three weeks I’ve been taking part in Tufts’ Graduate Institute for Teaching (GIFT). GIFT is a two part program for graduate students that focuses on their professional development as educators. The first part, which I’ve just completed, is a series of workshops on a variety of topics integral to teaching including [...]]]>For the past three weeks I’ve been taking part in Tufts’ Graduate Institute for Teaching (GIFT). GIFT is a two part program for graduate students that focuses on their professional development as educators. The first part, which I’ve just completed, is a series of workshops on a variety of topics integral to teaching including student cognition, course design, technology in the classroom, and conflict resolution. Each workshop was lead by a different Tufts professor and it was a great opportunity to learn not only the explicit content of their workshops, but to also learn by example as they employed the teaching methods they were talking about. The second part of the program will take place in the spring, when I will lead at least two class sessions in Prof. Atherton’s computational physics class, which is being taught for the first time and which we are currently developing.

In addition to the professor-taught workshops, us GIFTers were also given opportunities to try out the teaching skills we were developing. In the “Current Events” exercises which were interspersed between workshops, each of us lead a discussion on a topic of our choice, giving us the opportunity to practice our facilitation skills. Once the workshops were over, the last week of the program consisted of presentations given by the GIFTers. These presentations were really classes: each of us taught a 40-minute lesson in our own area of expertise at an introductory level. We practiced using the strategies we learned about in the first two weeks of the program, especially group activities and other forms of interactive learning. After each lesson we spent about half an hour giving feedback, which was always extremely constructive. Overall, the success of these lessons was a testament to how much we had each learned. Considering there were five lessons a day and I came out of each having learned something about the topic and about teaching, and it never started to feel tedious, something is obviously being done right.

For me, the two main highlights of the program were the opportunities given to us to practice using the skills we were learning, and the interdisciplinary diversity of the participants. The students in the program came from backgrounds in physics, math, english, computer science, drama, biomedical engineering, child development, biology, international relations, and nutrition. It was refreshing to spend a few weeks outside of my own academic niche.

The GIFT program was a fantastic opportunity and I’m grateful to have been part of it. While it was relatively short and you could spend semesters on any given topic that we might have covered in an afternoon, I now have at least a firm foundation and I can build on it as I move forward. I’m already applying what I’ve learned to the design of the computational physics course, and I’m looking forward to the spring when I’ll be able to use these skills in the classroom as well.

In this paper, we study the evolution of defects on a deforming, curved interface endowed with liquid crystalline order.

Two nematic shells brought in contact coalesce in order to reduce their interfacial tension. We study the defect textures as the combined shell shape evolves. Using large scale computer simulations, we resolve the director field and the defect valence on the doublet, how annihilating defect pairs are selected, and the stage of coalescence at which annihilation occurs os shells of varying sizes (Figure 1 below).

The coupling of orientational order to curvature plays a key role in shaping the structure of a number of important two-dimensional systems, including superfluid films and nematic-coated colloids. Understanding this coupling can help control the morphology of particle-stabilized interfaces for applications ranging from drug delivery systems to structuring in food and cosmetic products.

FIG. 1. Left: Defect arrangement on the doublet during coalescence; r = R1/R2 is the spheres’ relative size, and b is thestage of coalescence. For larger values of r, the defect arrangement becomes asymmetric with more defects located on the side with smallerGaussian curvature. Red dots indicate the positions of the defects. Right: For each shell size ratio on the left [(a):r = 2, (b):r = 1.5, and (c):r = 1], the Gaussian curvatures corresponding to different stages are plotted as a function of z: purple (b = 0), blue (b = 0.3), green (b = 0.6),and red (b = 1).

]]>http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/05/19/693/feed/0Chelsea High School Science Fairhttp://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/02/27/chelsea-high-school-science-fair/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/02/27/chelsea-high-school-science-fair/#commentsFri, 28 Feb 2014 02:00:33 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=686It was with great pleasure that I went to Chelsea High School today to be a judge for their annual science fair. I was invited by a former student, Nora Paul-Schultz who’s teaching at the school and took my Modern Physics class a couple of years ago.

It was with great pleasure that I went to Chelsea High School today to be a judge for their annual science fair. I was invited by a former student, Nora Paul-Schultz who’s teaching at the school and took my Modern Physics class a couple of years ago.

I was very impressed by the high standard of the projects—including some very ambitious ones!—and the enthusiasm of the students for presenting their work. Congratulations to all the participants!

]]>http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/02/27/chelsea-high-school-science-fair/feed/0“Letters to a Young Scientist” Book Review for Physics Todayhttp://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/02/20/letters-to-a-young-scientist-book-review-for-physics-today/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2014/02/20/letters-to-a-young-scientist-book-review-for-physics-today/#commentsThu, 20 Feb 2014 17:19:52 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=680I was asked last year to write a review for Physics Today magazine of famous entomologist Edward O. Wilson‘s book “Letters to a Young Scientist”. Wilson is emeritus faculty at Harvard University and is famous for his Pulitzer prize winning book “The Social Conquest of Earth”, as well as his television documentary “Lord of [...]]]>I was asked last year to write a review for Physics Today magazine of famous entomologist Edward O. Wilson‘s book “Letters to a Young Scientist”. Wilson is emeritus faculty at Harvard University and is famous for his Pulitzer prize winning book “The Social Conquest of Earth”, as well as his television documentary “Lord of the Ants”.

While I enjoyed this book a great deal, it’s hardly the last word on recruiting young people into Physics (particularly because it’s mostly addressed to biologists!) As I know from my own experiences in encouraging undergraduate students to participate in my research program, this is a challenging task that all Physicists should pitch in to help with. Moreover, since the community of Physicists is still far from reflecting the broader population, we’ve got much to do to encourage underrepresented people to participate and feel comfortable.

Group members Tim Atherton, Badel Mbanga, Chris Burke, Kate Voorhes and Ian Hunter got together today for a wonderful holiday lunch at local restaurant Oasis in Medford. We’d like to wish Happy Holidays to all of our blog readers!

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Group members Tim Atherton, Badel Mbanga, Chris Burke, Kate Voorhes and Ian Hunter got together today for a wonderful holiday lunch at local restaurant Oasis in Medford. We’d like to wish Happy Holidays to all of our blog readers!

]]>http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/19/group-holiday-lunch-2013/feed/0New England Complex Fluids Group at Boston Universityhttp://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/13/new-england-complex-fluids-group-at-boston-university/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/13/new-england-complex-fluids-group-at-boston-university/#commentsSat, 14 Dec 2013 01:00:17 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=665Badel Mbanga and Chris Burke today presented at the 57th New England Complex Fluids Workshop, held at Boston University and hosted by the Bansil group. Thanks to BU for hosting such an enjoyable conference!]]>Badel Mbanga and Chris Burke today presented at the 57th New England Complex Fluids Workshop, held at Boston University and hosted by the Bansil group. Thanks to BU for hosting such an enjoyable conference!
]]>http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/13/new-england-complex-fluids-group-at-boston-university/feed/0Fenway High School Science Fair at the Boston Museum of Sciencehttp://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/09/fenway-high-school-science-fair-at-the-boston-museum-of-science/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/09/fenway-high-school-science-fair-at-the-boston-museum-of-science/#commentsMon, 09 Dec 2013 20:00:43 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=661I was delighted to spend the morning today at the Boston Museum of Science judging high school senior science projects from Fenway High School. I was really impressed by the high quality of the projects and the number of students who showed both aptitude and interest in studying science further at university; I was [...]]]>I was delighted to spend the morning today at the Boston Museum of Science judging high school senior science projects from Fenway High School. I was really impressed by the high quality of the projects and the number of students who showed both aptitude and interest in studying science further at university; I was also delighted to see a high level of parental involvement. This speaks volumes about the wonderful science teachers and students at the school—so congratulations to everyone who participated!

You can read more about the event and see the winners on the Fenway High School blog post about the event.

]]>http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/09/fenway-high-school-science-fair-at-the-boston-museum-of-science/feed/0Materials Research Society 2013http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/06/softmattertheory-at-mrs-2013/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/06/softmattertheory-at-mrs-2013/#commentsSat, 07 Dec 2013 00:00:37 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=671Our friends in the Cebe group presented some of the results of our collaboration this week at the Materials Research Society meeting held annually in Boston.

Graduate student Dave Thomas gave talk A4.08 “Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Side Chain Elastomers” as part of a session on Elastomers, Gels and Liquid Crystals.

Congratulations to both presenters, and thanks to the Cebe group for communicating our joint work!

]]>http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/12/06/softmattertheory-at-mrs-2013/feed/0Our Australia Residency is featured in the Tufts A&S News!http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/11/05/our-australia-residency-featured-in-the-tufts-as-news/
http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/2013/11/05/our-australia-residency-featured-in-the-tufts-as-news/#commentsTue, 05 Nov 2013 21:41:30 +0000http://sites.tufts.edu/softmattertheory/?p=650We’re grateful to the College of Arts and Sciences at Tufts for writing a nice article featuring our recent residency in the Spicer group at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. We were able to do the residency because of a Tufts University International Research Program grant generously funded by an anonymous donor, [...]]]>We’re grateful to the College of Arts and Sciences at Tufts for writing a nice article featuring our recent residency in the Spicer group at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. We were able to do the residency because of a Tufts University International Research Program grant generously funded by an anonymous donor, and the article also features the Shultz group, who went to China to study the use of Titanium Dioxide for water purification.